The heads of seven men who were kidnapped by Muslim extremists on a volatile southern island were delivered to a Philippine army detachment on Thursday, officials said. The men six road project workers and a dried-fish factory worker were kidnapped at gunpoint in two separate incidents Monday near the town of Parang. Maj. Gen. Ruben Rafael, commander of military forces on Jolo island, said a group of civilians was ordered to take the heads to Parang by Muslim rebel commander Habier Malik, whose men have been battling troops since last week. "This is a retaliation for the killing of one of their commanders," Rafael said. "This is a terrorist act that should be condemned by all." He said the company which employed the road workers had refused to pay a ransom. ... http://abcnews.go.com

U.S. and Afghan troops killed about 24 Taliban in a battle in the Afghan south, the U.S. military said on Thursday, while government forces said they recaptured a road near Kabul. U.S. and Afghan troops fought a seven-hour battle with the Taliban in the Sangin district of Helmand province on Wednesday night and U.S. aircraft were called in for support, the American military said in a statement. "Approximately 24 Taliban were killed and four vehicles destroyed," it said. Two members of the U.S-led coalition force were wounded. Violence has been increasing in Afghanistan in recent weeks after a winter lull, but a threatened Taliban spring offensive has yet to materialize. In the meantime the U.S.-led force and troops from a separate NATO force have been mounting sweeps in Sangin and other parts of Helmand....http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070419/ts_nm/afghan_violence_dc

A Spanish judge has thrown out a woman's harassment suit against her ex-husband on the grounds she has a good education, arguing that had she really suffered abuse during their 16-year marriage she would have reported it right away or sought counseling.Women's advocacy groups voiced outage over Wednesday's ruling by a judge in the northern city of Valladolid, and Spain's ruling Socialist party asked a judicial oversight board to review it.The plaintiff, a high school teacher whose name has not been released, filed the suit last month arguing that her husband subjected her to psychological harassment throughout their 16-year marriage. They separated three years ago.Judge Jose Luis Chamorro, who heads a court specializing in gender violence cases, cast doubt on the woman's claims....http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266920,00.html

Iraq's hotly debated draft oil law was to be sent to parliament next week, the country's oil minister said on Wednesday. Hussain al-Shahristani, who was attending an oil conference in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, did not give a specific day but said the measure would go to lawmakers before the next week was out. In Baghdad, oil ministry spokesman Assem Jihad told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that the draft law would be in front of the legislature "within the coming few days if everything goes well." "The draft is with the State Shura Council now to be put in a legal form after being written in technical language," Jihad said. "We are expecting to take no more than two months to discuss it inside the parliament... between one and two months it depends on the parliament," Jihad added. ...http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/19/iraq/main2703622.shtml?source=RSSattr=World_2703622

The unauthorised disclosure by a trusted civil servant of a secret document detailing a meeting in 2004 between Tony Blair and President Bush about Iraq may have damaged the Armed Forces seriously and even led to loss of life, an Old Bailey trial was told yesterday. The document, marked “secret, personal” and circulated to top officials in Whitehall and to MI6, was copied by David Keogh, 50, a vetted telecommunications and cipher officer at a Cabinet Office centre that received classified documents from British embassies. David Perry, QC, for the prosecution at the trial of Mr Keogh and Leo O’Connor, a political researcher for a Labour MP who was allegedly handed a copy of the document, said that the two men were charged under the Official Secrets Act not because disclosure of the meeting was politically embarrassing but because it could have damaged Britain’s defence interests and harmed relations with the US. ...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article1674437.ece

Two uranium enrichment plants, a nuclear power station and an atomic defence installation all secretly removed and stored body parts of former workers, the Government admitted yesterday. Employees at Aldermaston, then the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment in Berkshire, and the uranium facilities at Capenhurst, Cheshire, and Springfields, Lancashire, had vital organs removed and sent for testing. The admission follows yesterday’s disclosure in The Times that Sellafield nuclear power station stored the hearts, lungs and other organs of at least 65 employees without telling their families. Alistair Darling, the Trade and Industry Secretary, has appointed Michael Redfern, QC, to lead an inquiry into the affair. Mr Redfern led the inquiry into the retention of infant body parts at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool seven years ago. Seven more dead workers from Aldermaston, Capenhurst and Springfields had vital organs removed, taking the total to 72. ...http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1674400.ece